Two weeks have passed since Maui’s puppies came into the world. They are growing like weeds and getting chunky. Maui is devoted to her babies and is a wonderful mama who cares for their every need.
The Transitional Period
Now that Maui’s puppies are two weeks old, they have entered the Transitional Period from days 14 to 21. Each litter is different, and it enters the next period, the Critical Socialization Period, when the puppies “first startle” at a sound.
Milestones
When raising puppies, we watch for Milestones to gauge their progress. This week, Maui’s puppies reached two milestones.
Weigh-In
The puppies’ first milestone this week was Doubling their birth weight. Maui’s puppies were packing on the weight quickly. One puppy doubled on day six, three puppies on day seven, two on day eight, and one on day ten. This is a record for our breeding program. Great job, Maui!
Eyes Opened
Day 10
Another milestone was reached during the week—eye-opening. On day ten, I was excited to notice three of our puppies had opened their eyes: yellow, brown, and green boys. The next day, day eleven, blue and grey boys and orange girls opened their eyes. One day, twelve pink girls’ eyes opened, too.
Seeing the puppies look back at me is always exciting—I think they look more “alive”!
Those Beautiful Eyes
The Boys
Green BoyYellow BoyGrey BoyBrown Boy
The Girls
Pink GirlOrange Girl
Looking Back at Week Two
The puppies spend their time eating and sleeping.
Looking Ahead to Week Three
ENS exercises will continue until day 16
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Sight will become clearer
Ears will open, and they will begin to hear
Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
They will become more aware of their littermates and start to interact
Willow’s puppies are now two weeks old and have entered the Transitional Period from day 14 – 21. Each litter is different and enters the next period, the Critical Socialization Period when the puppies “first startle” at a sound.
Two week old puppy huddle
Milestones
When raising puppies, we watch for Milestones to gauge the progress of our puppies. This weekWillow’s puppies reached two milestones.
Weigh-In
The first milestone the puppies reached this week was Doubling Their Birthweight. We are pleased to say that all Willow’s puppies have double their birth weight. Great job Willow!
Eyes Opened
Day 11
Another milestone was reached later in the week – Eyes Opening. Puppy’s eyes open between day 10 and day 14. On day 11, I was excited to notice that Yellow Girl had opened her eyes. Seeing the puppies look back at me is always exciting – I think they look more “alive”!
Soon after, and day by day the rest of the puppies opened their eyes too.
Daily Cleaning
As we stated before newborn puppies are susceptible to disease. For this reason, it is important to keep their area clean. We clean and disinfect their whelping box daily.
What is Vet Bedding? At first glance, you may think it is sheepskin. It is a manmade version of a sheepskin. It’s made from artificial fibres and has two sections: first, an underlying mesh, similar to the “skin” part of a sheepskin, and second, the comfy, soft, springy artificial fleece part that is attached to the mesh.
Puppies must have proper traction while nursing, moving around the whelping box, and learning to walk as this traction protects the puppy’s growing joints.
Time to Add a Panel
While cleaning in the whelping room Willow was resting on the elevated bed. I looked over to see some of her puppies had climbed out of their box and were nursing.
It is time to add a panel to the entrance
Looking Back at Week Two
The puppies spend their time eating and sleeping.
DAY 14 Puppies return to a clean whelping box. Notice how the puppies are starting to use their hind legs.
Those Beautiful Eyes
The Boys
Red BoyBlue BoyBlack Girl
The Girls
Dark Green GirlOrange GirlYellow GirlPink GirlPurple GirlLight Green Girl
Looking Ahead to Week Three
ENS exercises will continue until day 16
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Sight will become clearer
Ears will open and they will begin to hear.
Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
They will become more aware of their littermates and start to interact
Echo is a loving and attentive mama and she continues doing an amazing job caring for her babies. We have been kept busy this week as well with many of our daily tasks. For instance, some of the tasks include ENS exercises, cleaning, laundry, watching as puppies nurse, bottle feeding, weighing, and collar checks. As a result of both Echo’s and our care, our two weeks old puppies are growing bigger and stronger with each passing day.
While watching this video, notice the small movements made while the puppies are sleeping. These movements are called “Puppy Twitches” and are signs of a healthy puppy.
Why do puppies twitch?
A quote from the Puppy Culture Program we follow while raising our puppies explains Puppy Twitches.
“This twitching actually has a functional purpose – “activated sleep” helps build muscle and form the connections that will allow the puppies to develop motor coordination. This is why twitching is a key indicator that the puppy is healthy and developing normally.”
Puppy Culture
Milestones
When raising puppies, we watch for Milestones to gage the progress of our puppies. This week Echo’s puppies reached two milestones.
Weigh-In
The first milestone the puppies reached this week was Doubling Their Birthweight. Unquestionably, this is a milestone we pay close attention to because when puppy isn’t gaining enough weight it indicates there is a problem.
On average large breed puppies double their birthweight between day 10 and day 14. Because Echo has a large litter we justifiably would expected that the puppies might be delayed in reaching this milestone.
However this was not the case for Echo’s litter because some of Echo’s puppies reached this milestone early. Three puppies doubled their birth weight on day eight. Following close behind on day 9, one more puppy reached the milestone. Four other puppies followed suite with one puppy doubling on day 10 and three on day 11.
However two or Echo’s puppies, took a little longer to reach this milestone. Because they are our smallest puppies it is hard to compete with their larger littermates. Therefore we have been intervening to help them achieve this milestone. Firstly with a waiting box to separate the largest puppies during feeding time and secondly by supplementing with puppy formula.
Puppy Formula syringe
Finally our last two puppies reached the milestone. First of the two was Black girl on day 13 followed by Red girl today on day 14.
Eyes Opened
Another milestone was reach later in the week – Eyes Opening. Puppy’s eyes open between day 10 and day 14. While doing our ENS on day 11, I was excited to notice that two of our puppies had opened their eyes. Black girl and Purple girl, our two apricot parti puppies tied for the title “First Puppy to open their eyes”. It is always so exciting to see the puppies look back at me – I think they look more “alive”!
Soon after, and day by day the seven more puppies opened the eyes too. We are still waiting to see our Dark Blue Boy looking back at us…..maybe today he will open his eyes too.
Day 11
Purple Girl
Black Girl
Daily Cleaning
As we stated before newborn puppies are susceptible to disease. For this reason it is important to keep their area clean. We clean and disinfect their whelping box daily. During this time we put the puppies in the basket.
Disinfectant Cleaned whelping boxEcho keeping an eye on her babies in the basket
Vet Bedding
In addition to the daily cleaning, we will replace the Vet Bedding when needed sometimes two or three times a day. As you can image, this makes for a lot of laundry LOL
What is Vet Bedding? At first glance, you may think it is sheepskin. It is in fact a manmade version of a sheepskin. It’s made from artificial fibres and has two sections: first, an underlying mesh, similar to the “skin” part of a sheepskin, and second, the comfy, soft, springy artificial fleece part that is attached to the mesh.
Vet Bedding is a costly investment but when we began our breeding program without reservation it was imperative that we provide our puppies with the best. Undeniably, vet bedding provides excellent traction for our puppies and keeps them warm and dry. It is important that puppies have proper traction while nursing, moving around the whelping box, and learning to walk as this traction protects the puppies growing joints.
Clean whelp[ing box and vet bedding
DAY 9 Puppies return to a clean whelping box as mama Echo looks on. When all the puppies are back in the whelping box, Echo checks things out 😊
Day 12
Too cute not to share
I thought I would share a cute video that I caught of one of Echo’s puppies. Echo had poked her head into the whelping box making sure all was okay. While doing so, dark blue boy, whose eye’s had yet to open, could smell his mama. He then crawled over to the opening and began to climb out. LOL😂
Transitional Period
The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.
Because every puppy and litter is different, we look for “Behavioural Markers” to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. Now that the puppies’ eyes are open they have entered the Transitional Period.
Looking Ahead to Week Three
ENS exercises will continue until day 16
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Sight will become clearer
Ears will open and they will begin to hear.
Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
They will become more aware of their littermates and start to interact
Two week old puppies still spend most of the time sleeping
Two Weeks Old Today
Our puppies are now two-weeks-old and are progressing very well. We have had another busy week caring for Willow and her puppies. There is lots keep us busy while raising puppies such as ENS, cleaning, weighing, and laundry just to name a few.
Willow is a great mama because she continues to be protective and attentive as she cares for her little ones.
Willow resting on her elevated bed just outside the whelping box
Puppy Socialization
Experiencing Love
One of our goals while raising puppies it to teach them to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences.
This is why we handle our puppies as soon as their mamas feel comfortable along with giving them all daily cuddles. At two weeks old, our puppies have already experienced much socialization. In addition to me personally handling the puppies, on Sunday some of my grandchildren helped me cuddle he puppy. Not only did my grandchildren get their puppy fix but the puppies are also getting accustomed to different people holding them. As a result, the puppies were tired from all the interactions.
Introduction of Other Dogs
Part of our puppy raising process is to involve our other dogs in the process. This is done slowly because we must look to the mother to know when she is comfortable to let her babies have visitors.
On Thursday morning Willow allowed our dogs to have a peak at her babies while she was having some breakfast in the Whelping Room. Ellie who is Willow’s bestie, was able to come right over to the whelping box for a close up look in but Ruska, Maui and Nova had to look from afar. Eventually Willow also allowed Maui a closer look too.
MILESTONES REACHED BY TWO WEEKS OLD
During the first two weeks of a puppy’s life, it is important to look for milestones to confirm that they are doing well. So, as you can imagine, Monday was an exciting day for us because Willow’s puppies reached two milestones on the same day.
Doubling Birthweight
On Monday, some of the puppies reached their first milestone because they doubledtheir birthweight. Although puppies usually double their birthweight between day 10 and day 14, with a larger litter sometimes it makes it a little more challenging to reach this milestone. Everything considered, Willow is doing an amazing job feeding her babies because four of the puppies doubled their birthweight on day ten with the rest of the litter doubling over the next couple days. With all that eating and sleeping they puppies can’t help but grow.
The puppies are doing well at their daily weigh-in
Puppies Eyes Open
In addition to the weight milestone, we were excited to see one of Willow’s puppies reach another milestone on Monday. I look forward to this milestone from whelping day. Since puppy’s eyes open between day 10 and day 14, I started looking for this on Monday which was Day 10. This litter didn’t keep me waiting because when I checked each puppy out that morning, I could see our cream-coloured puppy’s eyes beginning to open. It is always so exciting when I see the puppies looking back at me!
Even though we had one puppy open their eyes on day 10, I had to wait a couple more days for some of the other puppies’ eye’s starting to open. By day 13, all the puppies’ eyes had started to open except our bigger Apricot Parti Boy. Today, Day 14, our last puppy’s eyes started to open.
Monday – Day 10Tuesday – Day 11
Our Cream-Coloured Girl was the first puppy to open her eyes. See the difference from Monday to Tuesday.
Neonatal Period: Day 0-14
The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. Consequently, by doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give the puppies the best start possible.
Early Neurological Stimulation
This week we continued our ENS Exercises with the puppies. As we have previously mentioned, ENS begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that tiny struggles and stresses in small doses are good for puppies and will help them grow into strong, healthy well-adjusted adults. The benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 – 16-day window.
Transitional Period @ Two weeks old
Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened, they have entered the Transitional Period. Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period (approximately Day 14 – 21) begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.
GROWING STRONGER
Becoming More Active
The puppies have gained strength in their hind legs and are moving around the whelping box faster. This was quite apparent when I went to check on the puppies and found one puppy on the floor. He had climb out of the whelping box and was now lost and crying. So, the time had come to add a panel to the entrance of the whelping box.
One of our Apricot Parti Boys crawled out of the whelping box.
A door panel was added to the entrance to keep all the puppies safe inside.
Learning to Walk on All Fours
When puppies are born, they move around the whelping box doing an army crawl because their hind legs need to gain strength before they can support their body weight.
This video shows Willow’s puppies practicing walking on all fours. As you can see, even though they are very wobbly all the puppies are making great progress.
Looking Ahead to Week Three
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Sight will slowly improve
Vision will become clearer
Ears will start to open and they will begin to hear
Practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
Grow stronger and more mobile
Become more aware and start to interact with their litter-mates
Another week has passed, and Ellie’s puppies are now two weeks old. We have had a busy week caring for Ellie and her puppies! Lots to do: ENS, cleaning, weighing, collar checks to name a few. But my favourite is puppies cuddles. Ellie continues to be a loving and attentive mama. She is protective and loves to care for her babies!.
Watch our two week old puppies nursing. They have grown so much!
My family have been over for puppy visits and cuddles this week. The puppies are getting accustomed to different people holding them
Milestones Reached
This week, Ellie’s puppies reached a couple milestones.
Weigh-in
The first milestone reached this week was Doubling Their Birthweight. Large breed puppies usually double their birthweight between day 10 and day 14. Ellie’s reached this milestone early. Four of the puppies doubled on day eight and the other two puppies followed the next day, doubling their birthweight on day nine. With only six babies for Ellie to feed, the puppies get an abundance of milk. They are getting quite chubby.
Daily weigh-in
Eyes Opened
Another milestone was reach later in the week – Eyes Opening. Puppy’s eyes open between day 10 and day 14. I look forward to this milestone from whelping day. When I got up in the morning on day 10, I started checking the puppies every few hours to see if I could see any sign that their eyes were starting to open but to my disappointment, nothing seemed to be happening. Then came Day 12 – on Saturday I could see the puppies’ eyes beginning to open. It starts in the corners of their eyes and gradually unseals over many hours. It is always so exciting to see the puppies look back at me – I think they look more “alive”!
Red Collar Boy was the first puppy to open his eyes!
Puppy Twitches
Puppy Twitches are a sign of a healthy puppy. Watch the video of Purple Collar Girl sleeping and notice the “Puppy Twitches”
Look At Those Beautiful Eyes
The video below shows each puppy. Look at the beautiful eyes. Five of our puppies’ eyes have opened. We are still waiting to see Purple Collar Girls beautiful eyes. They should open soon.
Puppies Getting Stronger & Becoming More Mobile
The puppies have gained strength in the hind legs and are becoming more mobile. They are moving faster and a few of the puppies have started to climb out of their whelping box. So, we have added a door panel to our whelping box entrance to keep the puppies safely contained inside their box.
Orange collar box climbing out
We added a door panel to our whelping box to keep puppies safe inside
Watch Ellie and Brinkley’s two week old puppies trying to walk on all fours. They are not steady yet but practicing walking helps strengthen their hind legs. They will progress as the weeks pass, becoming steadier until they can run.
Transitional Period
The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible. Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened they have entered the Transitional Period. Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
ENS exercises will continue until day 16
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Puppies will continue growing
Sight will slowly improve
Puppies’ ears will open and they will begin to hear.
Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
Puppies will become more aware and start to interact with their litter-mates
Echo’s sweet puppies are now two weeks old and growing bigger and more adorable with each passing day. Echo continues to be an amazing mama taking wonderful care of her babies!!
We have had another busy week and the puppies have made so much progress. We have fallen into a daily routine. Most of the puppies’ time is spent eating and sleeping. In addition to this, we continue the ENS exercises and weigh-in for each puppy. The puppies are moving faster and when Echo returns to the whelping box the puppies scurry around ready for another meal.
Weight-in
We continue to weigh the puppies daily and keep a record of their progress
Double BirthWeight Milestone
Echo had done an amazing job feeding her puppies. All our puppies have been gaining weight daily. Puppies should double their birth weight between 7 – 10 days. The first puppy doubled her birth weight on day 7 and the rest followed over the next few days. All our puppies have doubled their birthweight and continue to grow with each passing day.
As you know, the Goldendoodlebreed is an intentional mix of Poodle and Golden Retriever. We breed Standard Size with a weight range of 50 – 75+ pounds. Riggs who is the stud of Echo’s litter is 55 pounds, so I expected some puppies to be smaller than our previous litters. We have a few smaller puppies in this litter. The below picture shows the comparison of our largest puppy and our smallest puppy. (Both are males)
Light Blue Collar Boy on the left and White Collar Boy on the right
Feeding Time
Echo has a large litter of 11 but can only feed 8 puppies at a time. At first Echo was constantly in the whelping box and puppies just cycled through taking their turn eating without any intervention on my part. Now that Echo spends time away from her whelping box when she returns, all the puppies want to eat. So, I have had to step in and put three puppies into a “waiting box” until some puppies have finished nursing. It is important that all the puppies get their fair share of mama’s milk.
See puppies sleeping in the “waiting box” while the rest of the litter nurse.
LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL EYES
The puppies have reached another Milestone. On Thursday I was excited to see that Grey Collar Boy had opened his eyes. Over the next few days, the rest of the puppies’ eyes began to open. Though they cannot see well yet, it is always exciting when the puppies’ eyes open – they seem to come alive. Their vision will continue to improve over the next weeks.
Transitional Period
The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.
Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened they have entered the Transitional Period. Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.
Daily cuddles
Puppy socialization starts at birth. We handle our puppies as soon as their mamas feel comfortable and give them all daily cuddles.
My grandchildren are great helpers with this. I love to share this learning experience with them; teaching them to love and respect animals and to be gentle.
Today my two-year-old granddaughter helped me hold and cuddle all the puppies 🥰
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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
Puppies will continue growing
Sight will slowly improve
Puppies ears will open and they will begin to hear.
Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
Puppies will become more aware and start to interact with their litter-mates
I always say, when the puppies eyes open, they seem to come alive. Have a look at our puppies two week singles. Don’t you agree? Over the next few weeks, we are looking forward to seeing their personalities develop as we introduce them to so many new things!
I tried to get these singles for our “two week old” blog but, it is never an easy job taking puppy pictures. I had to take these pics over a two day period. Willow’s puppies wouldn’t co-operate the first day so, I tried again the next day. If you think Willow’s puppies don’t look very alert, you are correct. I thought I would have better luck if they had a full tummy and that always makes them sleepy! d
Ellie & Brinkleys Litter
Dark Blue Collar Boy 1245 gramsGreen Collar Boy 1085 gramsLight Blue Collar Boy 1150 gramsPurple Colar Girl 1000 gramsRed Collar Girl 1295 gramsOrange Collar Girl 1165 gramsMagenta Collar Girl 1180 gramsPink Collar Girl 1240 grams
Approximately half Ellie and Brinkley’s puppies will be Flat Coat Goldendoodles (retriever type – no beard). It is not until the puppies are six weeks of age that it is apparent which will be Flat Coats and which will be Teddy Bear. Whatever type they are, Ellie and Brinkley produce smart, loving, gentle puppies. We have had great feedback from their forever families. Some of their past puppies are emotional support dogs for a family member.
Willow and Brinkley’s Litter
Mocha Collar Girl 965 gramsGrey Collar Girl 985 gramsGreen Collar Girl 940 gramsYellow Collar Girl 1005 gramsMagenta Collar Girl 950 gramsBlack Collar Boy 995 gramsCamo Collar Boy 895 gramsBlue Collar Boy 1020 gramsCayenne Collar Boy 1070 grams
Willow and Brinkley have the genetics to produce a vast variety of colours and patterns. All of their puppies will be Teddy Bear Goldendoodles. We have received great feedback from the families of their first litter.
Willow’s puppies (left) and Ellie’sPuppies(right) two weeks old
Willow’s puppies (left) and Ellie’sPuppies(right) two weeks old
LOOKING BACK
We have had another busy week and the puppies have made so much progress. Our puppies are now two weeks old and growing more adorable with each passing day! We reached a couple milestones this week: (1) All our puppies have doubled their birth-weight and then some. (2) The puppies opened their eyes. Their sight will improve as the days and weeks pass.
Ellie and Willow continue to be loving attentive mamas who take wonderful care of their babies. The puppies are gaining weight daily and continue to do what healthy puppies do – Eat, Sleep, and Grow! Besides feeding and cuddling, it is important for our mamas to lick their puppies. The licking interactions between a mama and her pup have been shown to be essential to the physical and emotional health of both mama and baby. Newborn puppies need to be stimulated by their mother to eliminate. This is why the mama’s spend time cleaning each pup before and after feeding.
See How They Have Grown
NewbornTwo weeks old
Although their mama’s take care of cleaning the puppies, cleaning of the whelping boxes is my responsibility. Our whelping boxes are disinfected and a clean vet bed liner is replaced daily. We line the whelping box with a “vet bed fleece”. This is a financial investment on our part but, we feel it is well worth the money. It not only keeps our puppies warm and dry, it also provides excellent footing for the puppies as they learn to walk and stops their legs from slipping as they nurse. When it is time to clean the whelping boxes, I put the puppies into a laundry basket to keep them contained. I am going to have to find bigger containers because some of the puppies are starting to climb out. We have also had to add a panel to the whelping box entrance to keep them safe inside.
Laundry basket
Door Panel Added
A day in the whelping box consists of eating, sleeping, and cuddling with mama and grandchildren
Looking for a comfy spot to sleep
With Ellie locked out of the room, I took the opportunity to take a quick video to show the the puppies progress. Soon Ellie came back … She wasn’t too happy as you will hear in the video 😂 The below video shows the progress the puppies have made. Their hind legs have become stronger and they are moving more quickly around their whelping box. The puppies are starting to vocalize. Now that their eyes have opened they will start to interact with each other.
Things to look for: eyes opened, puppies using hind legs, puppies starting to vocalize
The excitement as mama returns and another meal
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
Puppies will still eat and sleep most of their day
Puppies will continue growing
Sight will slowly become clearer
Puppies Ears will start to open and they will begin to hear.
Puppies hind legs will become stronger and they will practice walking on all fours
Puppies will become more aware and start to play with their litter-mates.
Echo is a loving and attentive mama – whether it is cleaning, feeding, or just snuggling, Echo loves being a mama! This past week we have been busying helping Echo care for her baby.
Milestone Reached
This week on day 13, we were excited to see Echo’s puppy’s eyes had opened! Echo’s puppy is now in the Transitional Period which begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. I always feel that puppies become more alive when they reach this milestone.
When puppies are in the Neonatal Period (day 0 – 14) they spend their days and nights eating and sleeping. Sleep-time – 22 hours and Awake-time – 2 hours is spent eating.
Without any competition from littermates singleton puppies have unlimited supply of milk resulting in rapid weight gain. Singleton puppies have a higher percentage rate of developing “swimmer puppy syndrome”. To avoid Echo’s puppy developing this condition, we have been pro-active and undertaken a few strategies to help the puppy as she develops.
Solid Footing
Puppies must avoid slipping as they try to maneuver around the whelping box. It is important for newborn puppies to have good traction as they develop. We alway use Vet-Bedding to line our whelping boxes. It is a man-made material that is soft, warm and provides excellent traction for the puppies as they learn to walk.
Slow Down Weight-Gain
When raising a singleton puppy, it is important to try to slow the puppy’s weight gain. Much of my time this week during the day was spent by the whelping box limiting feeding time, much to the dissatisfaction of both mama and puppy. I’m sure Echo’s favourite time is during the night – while I sleep, Echo gets to spend all her time with her puppy without my interference. Even though our puppy is a Chunky Monkey, this interaction has helped slow her weight gain.
Exercise
During the limited awake time we have been trying to help the puppy get more exercise to strengthen her leg muscles. As we discussed in my previous blog, exercise for a singleton puppy doesn’t happen naturally as it does for a puppy with littermates. Less exercise combined with extra weight, makes it more difficult for the singleton pup to support themselves as they are learning to walk on all fours. To lower the risk of Echo’s puppy developing “swimmer puppy syndrome“, it is important to develop strong hind leg muscles. Below are a few ways we are using to help Echo’s puppy in this area.
Nursing Exercise – During feeding time, I have added a couple stuffed animals beside the puppy as she nurses. This mimics littermates and makes our singleton pup work harder as she uses her back legs to compete for food instead of just lying down to leisurely nurse.
Taping Exercise – One of the symptoms of “swimmer puppy syndrome” is a puppy that stays on their tummy with legs spread out trying to maneuver around – much like a turtle on dry land. To help avoid this, we spent a few days doing a taping exercise. Using Self Adhesive Bandage Wrap, I taped the puppy’s legs to help them stay close together. This helped her not to drag her legs behind while she crawled and strengthened her hind leg muscles.
Front
Back
Watch the video as the puppies moves with her legs taped. This exercise helps strengthen her hind leg muscles which further reduces the risk of developing “swimmer puppy syndrome“.
Obstacles Exercise – Without littermates to crawl over, we needed to add some obstacles. We filled our whelping box full of obstacles – i.e. bolster beds, stuffed animals, blanket, sock buddies for the puppy to crawl over as she moves around the whelping box. This helps her build strong muscles. They also make great headrests for sleeping LOL!
Hard Work Pays Off!
It has been a lot of work this week helping our sweet puppy build strong muscles. Without littermates to compare progress with, it is hard to judge. Looking back at my previous litters, I would say the puppy’s walking development is a day or two behind but, she is making great progress!!! As you can see in the video below, all our hard work is paying off!
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
Eyes will continue to open wider and sight will slowly become clearer
Puppy will still eat and sleep most of its day
Puppy will continue growing
Ears will begin to open
Puppy’s hind legs will become stronger as she practices walking on all fours
Puppy will become more aware of her surroundings and start to play
